Elections complaint dismissed

September 14, 2006

Americus - The state board of elections dismissed a complaint against the Sumter County Elections supervisor. Sherry Ratliff was accused of disenfranchising black voters by providing inaccurate information about absentee voting in the 2005 mayoral race. The complaint was made by Dr. John Marshall, president of the local chapter of the NAACP. The investigation found Ratliff did not do anything intentionally to disenfranchise voters.

The state is still looking into a complaint filed by Ratliff. She claims Mayoral candidate, James Bryant Junior may have been in possession of absentee ballots and assisted voters with those ballots. That claim will be heard by an administrative law judge, but a hearing isn't set.